Die-cut coupon shrink label

ABSTRACT

A promotion-bearing, coupon label for disposition on an article of merchandise. The label is in the form of a tubular band which is adapted to be heat shrunk about the article and includes an inner and outer surface. An advertising announcement appears on the outer surface of the band and a promotional coupon appears on the inner surface of the band. Only the announcement is visible when the band is in place on the article. A tear strip is provided on the band to facilitate the removal of the band from the article to enable the coupon to be utilized. In an embodiment of the invention for particular use with aerosol cans having chimed caps, the band includes a pair of arcuate recesses cut in one of the peripheral edges thereof to facilitate the disposition of the band on the cap prior to shrinkage of the band.

United States Patent Spiegel et a1.

[451; Dec. 23, 1975 1 DIE-CUT COUPON SHRINK LABEL [75] Inventors: William Spiegel, Southampton;

Jacob Spiegel, Philadelphia both of Pa.; Albert Miller, Somerdale, NJ. [73] Assignee: Gilbreth Company, Comwells Heights, Pa.

[22] Filed: Feb. 4, 1974 [21] Appl. No.:439,463

[52] US. Cl 40/307; 40/306 [51] Int. Cl. G09F 3/00 [58] Field of 40/2, 135, 306, 307, 310, 40/21 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 451,028 4/1891 Cowles 40/21 R X 1,004,055 9/1911 Martin et a1. 40/306 2,420,045 5/ 1947 Krug 2,557,402 6/1951 Al'theimer.... 2,831,278 4/1958 Myers 2,855,707 10/1958 Schor 3,001,306 9/1961 Wilkinson 40/2 X 3,106,032 10/1963 Morgan 40/135 3,110,554 11/1963 Yazumi 40/306 X Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Wenceslao J. Contreras Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein & Cohen [57] ABSTRACT A promotion-bearing, coupon label for disposition on an article of merchandise. The' label is in the fonn of a tubular band which is adapted to be heat shrunk about the article and includes an inner and outer surface. An advertising announcement appears on the outer surface of the band and a promotional coupon appears on the inner surface of the band. Only the announcement is visible when the band is in place on the article. A tear strip is provided on the band to facilitate the removal of the band from the article to enable the coupon to be utilized. In an embodiment of the invention for particular use with aerosol cans having chimed caps, the band includes a pair of arcuate recesses cut in one of the peripheral edges thereof to facilitate the disposition of the band on the cap prior to shrinkage of the band.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,927,484

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I I I I I DIE-CUT COUPON SHRINK LABEL This invention relates generally to advertising promotional material such as premiums, cash refunds, etc., and more specifically relates to shrinkable labels for use on articles of merchandise which carry promotional material thereon.

Premiums, cash refunds and other types of promotions offering the purchaser of a product an inducement to purchase the product are well known. In the past such advertising promotions have been provided to the consumer by placing coupons inside the packaging box, inside the container itself, or attached to the outside of the container. The usual proof-of-purchase methods required not only combining the promotional announcement with the coupon but also required, assembling the coupon to the container and thereafter protecting the coupon from pilferage. For certain container shapes, such as aerosols, heretofore, proof-ofpurchase promotions presented significant difliculty in the placement of the announcement and associated proof-of-purchase coupon.

Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a promotional label including an advertising announcement and a proof-of-purchase coupon formed as a simple integral unit.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a label in the form of a heat shrinkable band for carrying an advertising announcement and a promotional coupon therefore and which is readily adapted for use with various articles of merchandise, such as aerosol containers, glass or plastic bottles, etc.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved by providing a promotion-bearing, coupon label for disposition on an article of merchandise. The label comprises a heat shrinkable tubular band which is adapted to be shrunk about the article. The band includes an outer surface and an inner surface. The band also includes advertising announcement indicia appearing on the outer surface of the band so as to be able to read when the band is in place on the article. The band also includes promotion-bearing indicia appearing on the surface of the band. The band is arranged to be removed from the article by the purchaser to enable the purchaser to utilize the promotion-bearing indicia appearing on the inner surface of the band as a coupon.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the conventional aerosol container having the promotion-bearing label of this invention disposed thereon;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the promotion-bearing label of FIG. 1 shown prior to its disposition on the aerosol container;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a promotion-bearing label in accordance with this invention showing a typical advertising announcement on the outside surface thereof;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a portion of the interior surface of the label shown in FIG. 4 and including promotion-bearing indicia forming a coupon thereon;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the remaining portion of the inside surface of the label of this invention and including instructional indicia thereon; and

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 3 and showing the layers of print which have been applied on the label to form the indicia and the background therefore.

Referring now to the various figures of the drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there as shown as FIG. 1 and improved coupon-bearing label 20 disposed on a container 22.

While the container 22 is shown as a conventional type, aerosol container, it is to be understood that this invention can be used with various other articles of merchandise upon which coupon-bearing promotional advertising is placed, such as bottles, boxes, tubes etc., formed of various materials such as plastics, glass or metals.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, container 22 basically comprises a pressurized tubular body portion 24 holding the product to be dispensed as an aerosol. The body portion 24 includes a circular sidewall 26, a bottomwall 28 and a domed topwall 30 (FIG. 3). The top and bottom walls are connected to associated peripheral edges of the sidewall by flanged joints 32 and 34, respectively (FIGS. 1 and 3). A manually operable spray head 36 (FIG. 3) is provided at the uppermost portion of the domed topwall and is adapted to be depressed by the users finger to allow the pressurized product to exhaust as an aerosol through nozzle 38 in the head 36.

A cover or cap 40 is provided to protect the spray head and to preclude the discharge of the aerosol in the event that the spray head is accidentally depressed. The cap 40 is a hollow tubular member having a sidewall 42 and a topwall 44. The free peripheral edge 46 of the sidewall 42 is in the form of a projecting ledge, which is commonly referred to as a chime.

The chime 48 is provided to enable the cap to fit over and on the upper flanged joint 32 and to be held firmly in place thereon. To that end the inside diameter of the chime is approximately the same size as the outside diameter of the uppennost flanged joint 32.

In accordance with this invention, the promotionbearing couponllabel 20 is in the form of a tubular band 50 which is secured to the cap 40 by the shrinkage thereof. To that end the band 50 is formed of a shrink film, preferably oriented to shrink primarily radially. An example of this type of material is polyvinyl chloride oriented to shrink from 30 to in diameter with a longitudinal shrinkage of from 3 to l5%. Other shrinkable materials, which are well known in the art, can also be used, providing that such materials are capable of being (I) printed upon, (2) formed into a tubular band by heat sealing, (3) die-cut, and (4) shrunk when exposed to heat, usually above 300F.

As can be seen in FIG. 2 the tube includes an outer surface 52, an inner surface 54, a top peripheral edge 56 and a bottom peripheral edge 58.

The production of the label 20 is as follows: a strip of ,heat shrinkable material is printed to provide the desired announcement, coupon and informational bearing indicia. A preferred manner utilized to effect the printing on the label will be described in detail later. Once the strip is suitably printed, it is formed into the tubular band 50 having a longitudinal seam 60 which is heat sealed. The heat sealing operation may be carried out through various techniques such as the use of heat bars, radio frequency heaters, ultra-sonic heaters, etc.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 the label, is provided with indicia 62 thereon, which indicia is completely open to view and serves to provide a promotional announcement, such as, for 'example,the refund of sum of money to the purchaser of the product when accompanied by the submission of an accompanying proof-of-purchase coupon. To that end, the proof-of-purchase coupon also forms a portion of the label 20, but cannot be seen when the label is secured in place. The proof-of-purchase coupon is adapted to be used by the purchaser by removing the label from the article.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, proof-of-purchase coupon is formed by indicia 64 appearing on the inner surface 54 of the band 50. The indicia preferably includes blank portions adapted to be filled in with information by the purchaser, such as the purchasers name, address, etc. In addition, instructional indicia 66 carrying instructions and other auxiliary information, such as the duration of the promotional offer may also be provided on the inside of the band. (See FIG. 6)

To facilitate the production of the tubular label, the announcement indicia, the coupon-bearing indicia, and the informational indicia are all printed on one surface of a flat transparent strip of heat shrinkable material. Once the strip is printed it is formed into the tubular band with the printed side of the strip forming the inner surface 54 of the band 50. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the fomiation of the various printed indicia is effected as follows: As can be seen in the greatly enlarged sectional view of FIG. 7, the announcement bearing indicia 62 is printed as a first layer 68 on the inner surface of the heat shrinkable material forming tube 50. The indicia 62 is printed backwards such that when viewed through the material from the outer surface of the band 50, the indicia appears normally oriented and is readable. After the announcement indicia is printed on the strip, at least one and preferably several solid opaque layers 70 are printed directly over the announcement indicia layer. After the opaque layers 70 are printed, the coupon-bearing indicia 64 and the instructional indicia 66 are printed as a top layer 72 directly on the uppermost of the opaque layers 70. The coupon-bearing and instructional indicia are printed in the normal, unreversed manner, so as to be readable when viewed from the side of the inside surface of band 50.

The opaque layers 70 which are interposed between the announcement indicia layer and the coupon-bearing and instructional indicia layer are provided to preclude the promotion-bearing indicia and instructional indicia from being readable through the announcement indicia and thereby confused therewith when the label is in place. Similarly, the opaque layers 70 prevent the announcement indicia from appearing through the coupon-bearing and promotional indicia when the label is removed from the container. In addition, the opaque intermediate layers also serve as the background upon which the purchaser writes in the required information.

It should be pointed out at this juncture that while it is preferable, from the standpoint of ease of production of the tubular labels 20, to form such labels by printing only on one side thereof as described immediately above, it is to be understood that the announcement indicia can be printed on the outside surface while a couponbearing and information indicia can be printed on the inside surface. All that is required as far as this invention is concerned is that the announcement indicia appear on the outside surface of the label and that 4 the coupo n-bearing indicia appear on the inside surface thereof, with preferably no intermingling of indicia.

For applications wherein the label 20 is to be utilized on chimed caps like that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lowermost peripheral edge 58 of the band 50 includes a pair of arcuate recesses 74 cut therein. The recesses facilitate the placement of an unshrunk band on the cap and over its chime by providing tapered extending portions 76 which readily slide over the chime.

Once the tube is disposed about the article to which it is to be secured, heat is applied to the tube from any conventional heat source, such as a heat tunnel heated to 300 to 450F. Within a few seconds the tube shrinks tightly around the article.

As can be seen in FIG. I when shrunk in place, the upper peripheral edge 56 of the tube 50 tightly abuts the topwall 44 of the cap contiguous with the sidewall thereof while the lowermost peripheral edge 56 of the tube shrinks inwardly and towards the underside of the chime. This enables the extending portions 76 to fold inward into the interior of the cap so as to be completely hidden when the cap is in place.

In order to facilitate the removal of the label 20 from the container 22, a tear strip 78 (FIGS. 1, 2, 4 & 6) is provided along seam 60. The tear strip comprises a pair of parallel perforated lines 80. When the material of the band between the lines 80 is gripped and pulled along the length of the band, the band splits along the perforations, thereby freeing the label from the cap.

As should be appreciated from the foregoing, this invention overcomes various disadvantages of the prior art relating to promotional labeling by eliminating carton boxes, special labels, etc. In addition it upgrades the appearance of the container while providing a advertising announcement, a proof-of-purchase coupon and instructional material as an integral unit. Accordingly, this invention reduces the costs involved in the production and assemblage of promotional couponbearing labels. In addition the shrinkable coupon label of this invention is reasonably tamper resistent because of the fact that the proof-of-purchase coupon is normally printed on the inside surface of the shrunk band. The printing itself is protected against scraping and the coupon on the inside remains clean such that it can be later filled in by the purchaser. Further still, the die-cut recesses in the lower peripheral edge of the band facilitate the placing of the label on containers having chimed or ledged sidewalls.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate our invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

What is claimed as the invention is:

l. A label for disposition on the cap of a container, said cap having a chime about the lower edge thereof, said label being a heat shrinkable tube and including advertising indicia thereon, said label including a peripheral edge having two opposed recessed portions cut therein and forming tapered extending portions which readily slide over said chime to facilitate the placement of the label on the cap prior to the shrinkage thereof.

2. The label of claim 1 whereinmeans are provided on the label to facilitate its removal from the container.

3. The label of claim 2 wherein said means comprise a tear strip formed of at least one line of perforations in said tube.

4. A promotion-bearing, coupon label for disposition on the cap of an aerosol container, said cap having a 6 ciably visible on the outer surface of the band, said band also including a peripheral edge having two opposed recessed portions cut therein and forming tapered extending portions which readily slide over the chime of the cap to facilitate the placement of the band on the cap prior to the shrinkage of the band, said band also including means for effecting its removal from the cap after it has been shrunk thereabout to expose the coupon.

I I i 

1. A label for disposition on the cap of a container, said cap having a chime about the lower edge thereof, said label being a heat shrinkable tube and including advertising indicia thereon, said label including a peripheral edge having two opposed recessed portions cut therein and forming tapered extending portions which readily slide over said chime to facilitate the placement of the label on the cap prior to the shrinkage thereof.
 2. The label of claim 1 wherein means are provided on the label to facilitate its removal from the container.
 3. The label of claim 2 wherein said means comprise a tear strip formed of at least one line of perforations in said tube.
 4. A promotion-bearing, coupon label for disposition on the cap of an aerosol container, said cap having a chime about the lower edge thereof, said label comprising a heat shrinkable tubular band arranged to be shrunk about said cap, said band including an outer surface, an inner surface, advertising announcement indicia appearing on the outer surface of the band to be able to read when the band is on place on the container, promotion-bearing indicia appearing unreversed on the inner surface of the band and forming a coupon readable from the inner surface and an opaque background under the promotion-bearing indicia, whereby said promotion-bearing indicia is not appreciably visible on the outer surface of the band, said band also including a peripheral edge having two opposed recessed portions cut therein and forming tapered extending portions which readily slide over the chime of the cap to facilitate the placement of the band on the cap prior to the shrinkage of the band, said band also including means for effecting its removal from the cap after it has been shrunk thereabout to expose the coupon. 